Alan Kelly TD

Thank you for visiting my website. I was honoured to have been given a mandate to serve the people of Tipperary and will continue to do my best to deliver for all my constituents.

I was delighted to have served as Minister of Environment, Community & Local Government, having previously been Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with special responsibility for Public and Commuter Transport.

In order to ensure that I deliver the best possible information for my constituents, I welcome any suggestions for the site. I also invite my constituents to inform me about any events coming up in your area and I will advertise it here for you.

I am calling on every one in Tipperary to sign this petition before January 6, 2017, the petition will then be sent as a submission to the constituency commission. The countdown has now commenced to the next boundary review report which should be completed by Summer 2017. We need to make sure that the electoral commission get a very clear understanding that breaking county boundaries is not acceptable, particularly for large counties like Tipperary.

Earlier this year over 10,000 people from North Tipperary were forced to vote in the Offaly constituency in the General Election. This is a decision that they were not consulted on enough and which flies in the face of common sense considering they're represented locally on Tipperary County Council.

I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, that 159 primary and special schools in Tipperary are to benefit under the minor works grant scheme

Each school will get a fixed sum of €5,500 and then they’re allocated €18.5 per pupil on the basis of their 2015/16 figures.

This is extremely valuable money for the school as it allows them to carry out vital minor works such as the replacement of doors or painting works for example, which need to be attended to urgently and on a frequent basis. This will also be of benefit to the students who will learn in an improved environment.”

I was delighted to accompany First Data executives to Nenagh last week as they met with the local authority and local businesses to update them on their plans for their new and exciting research and development centre in the town.

The company had a large team in Ireland last week led by their CAO Tom Higgins. Speaking to the local chamber of commerce he confirmed that work is well underway in relation to the move and that the company is aiming to commence the recruitment process for their centre very soon. A separate First Data team spent time in Mid West visiting local colleges last week.

The work on the site will commence early in January once all assessments and tendering are concluded and it's aimed to have the building and full site ready by the summer with some employees on site by the the third quarter of 2016. It is hoped many of their future employees will be local to the area or family members working elsewhere in Ireland or abroad wishing to return home.

I was delighted to spend a number of days meeting with First Data executives last week and I'm thrilled with the progress being made.